The rice-based food culture of Japan began with the introduction of wet rice cultivation more than 2,000 years ago. Meals are eaten 3 times a day, with the basic style including rice, a bowl of soup (miso soup or sui-mono) and two or three side dishes, with green tea sipped at the end of the meal. The tradition of rice served with seasonal vegetables and fish and other seafood reached a high level of sophistication in the Edo period (1600-1868) and remains the core of native Japanese cuisine.
When choosing words to describe the Japanese diet, "nature" & "harmony" are the best fit. It is important never to kill the natural flavor of the ingredients. The ingredients must be in harmony to make the dish; and the dish in harmony with other dishes to make the meal. The meal itself must be in harmony with nature and the surroundings, including the person who is dining.
With a premium placed upon freshness and natural flavor, the most valued of foods are eaten at their prime, or shun. Japanese people celebrate spring by eating bamboo shoots, tuna, and herring; early summer with bonito; and autumn with chestnuts and the prized mushroom matsutake. Eating the ingredients at their shun is believed to be ideal for health as well. The importance of shun also contributes to the Japanese fascination with local specialty foods. An important part of the trip for any long-distance traveler in Japan is the changing selection of localized bento (lunch boxes) available at each station along the way. Once at a destination, it is understood that one will enjoy certain regional specialties. Visitors to Osaka will naturally stop at a street stall for tako-yaki, octopus in batter skillfully cooked into a perfect little ball shape. Some travelers will go to Hiroshima for no other reason than to eat okonomiyaki, a combination of meat and vegetable ingredients cooked in batter on a hot grill. Hokkaido is known for a range of fresh dairy products, and a visitor will want to try the cheeses and add a bit of butter to the local salt-flavored ramen as well as to a baked potato.
The association of certain places with certain foods also plays a big part in the tradition of omiyage—souvenir gift-giving. The need to purchase omiyage for family members and friends back at home is always foremost in the mind of a Japanese traveler. A tourist returning from Kyoto will be happily welcomed back if they bring a box of the thin bean-filled mochi dessert known as otabe. A businessman will win favor with the office staff if he remembers to pick up some ningyo yaki at Tokyo Station.
CHINA
Chopsticks: Chinese simply choose chopsticks as their tableware rather than knife and fork since Chinese people, under cultivation of Confucianism, consider knife and fork bearing sort of violence, like cold weapons. However, chopsticks reflect gentleness and benevolence, the main moral teaching of Confucianism.
Never stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl, since that usually appears on the funeral and is deemed extremely impolite to the host and seniors present.
Make sure the spout of the teapot is not facing anyone. The proper way is make it direct outward from the table.
Don't tap on your bowl with your chopsticks, since that will be deemed insult to the host or the chef. Never try to turn a fish over and debone it yourself, since the separation of the fish skeleton from the lower half of the flesh will usually be performed by the host or a waiter. Superstitious people will deem bad luck will ensue and a fishing boat will capsize otherwise.
In China, foods are given different meanings, so that in certain occasion a kind of food, can only be eaten by some specific individuals, or a kind of food must be eaten in specific occasion. Usually, an honored guest will be served a snapper's head or shell to hail him and show warmly welcome in some districts. Long noodle is the symbol of longevity in China, so that youngsters or seniors all will have a bowl of Long Life Noodle to expect a healthy life.
In Central China, if a baby is born, his father will send Red Boiled Egg to announce the news. An even number, usually six or eight, of Red Boiled Egg with a black point dotted on one end will be delivered for a boy, and an odd number, usually five or seven without black point for a girl. Fish is always served to symbolize prosperity and wealth accumulation in the New Year's Eve. There are other foods and snacks symbolizing good wishes under special circumstances, such as duck, chicken and melon seeds. http://www.warriortours.com/intro/cuisine_culture.htm
Mongolia
An old Mongolian saying advices: “Keep breakfast for yourself, share lunch with your friend and give dinner to your enemy”.
The biggest and most important meals for Mongolians are breakfast and lunch, which usually consist of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour and maybe some dairy products or rice.
Kazakhs in western Mongolia add variety to their diet with horsemeat.
Mongolians are big tea drinkers and the classic drink is süütei tsai (tea with milk). Men who refuse to drink arkhi (vodka) are usually considered wimps. Herders make their own unique home brewed airag, which is fermented mare's milk with an alcoholic content of about 3% http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_culture.htm If you are invited into somebody's ger (or traditional tent dwelling) or apartment, you will probably have an opportunity of tasting buuz, khuushuur and bansh. These Mongolian national meals are made with minced meat seasoned with garlic or onion (it can be anything from mutton to beef to camel to horse to gazelle) covered with flour and steamed in boiling water, fried in oil and boiled in water.
The meat-dependent diet arises from the need for hearty food to stave off the cold and long winters. Traditionally nomadic herders, Mongolians have for centuries been dependent on mostly animal products for their dietary staples.
Russians pulled the plug on Mongolia's aid in 1991, the economy went into a severe crisis. For many Mongolians it was their first experience of serious hunger. The staple traditional diet of meat, milk and flour saw many people through this crisis, when food imports from the former Soviet Union dropped off.
Mongolians traditionally have turned to foods that are high in protein and minerals, relying less on more seasonable foods like vegetables and fruits. This means a diet heavy on meat and dairy products, the latter when sour in the summer time thought to clean the stomach. It isn't just about meat though. Mongolians do also eat cereal, barley and natural fruits and plants native to the country.
Out of necessity Mongolians have found creative and ingenious ways to use the milk of all five of the domestic animals in the country: sheep, cattle, goats, camels and horses. Orom is the cream that forms on top of boiled milk; aaruul are dried curds and can be seen baking in the sun on top of gers in the summer; eetsgii is the dried cheese; airag is fermented milk of mares (female horses); nermel, is the home-brewed vodka that packs a punch; tarag, is the sour yogurt; shar tos, melted butter from curds and orom, and tsagaan tos, boiled orom mixed with sometimes flour, natural fruits or eesgii. The method of drying the dairy products is common in preparing them. The Mongolians prepare enough dairy products for the long winter and spring. http://asiarecipe.com/monfood.html North Korea
JAPAN
The rice-based food culture of Japan began with the introduction of wet rice cultivation more than 2,000 years ago. Meals are eaten 3 times a day, with the basic style including rice, a bowl of soup (miso soup or sui-mono) and two or three side dishes, with green tea sipped at the end of the meal. The tradition of rice served with seasonal vegetables and fish and other seafood reached a high level of sophistication in the Edo period (1600-1868) and remains the core of native Japanese cuisine.
When choosing words to describe the Japanese diet, "nature" & "harmony" are the best fit. It is important never to kill the natural flavor of the ingredients. The ingredients must be in harmony to make the dish; and the dish in harmony with other dishes to make the meal. The meal itself must be in harmony with nature and the surroundings, including the person who is dining.
With a premium placed upon freshness and natural flavor, the most valued of foods are eaten at their prime, or shun. Japanese people celebrate spring by eating bamboo shoots, tuna, and herring; early summer with bonito; and autumn with chestnuts and the prized mushroom matsutake. Eating the ingredients at their shun is believed to be ideal for health as well.
The importance of shun also contributes to the Japanese fascination with local specialty foods. An important part of the trip for any long-distance traveler in Japan is the changing selection of localized bento (lunch boxes) available at each station along the way. Once at a destination, it is understood that one will enjoy certain regional specialties. Visitors to Osaka will naturally stop at a street stall for tako-yaki, octopus in batter skillfully cooked into a perfect little ball shape. Some travelers will go to Hiroshima for no other reason than to eat okonomiyaki, a combination of meat and vegetable ingredients cooked in batter on a hot grill. Hokkaido is known for a range of fresh dairy products, and a visitor will want to try the cheeses and add a bit of butter to the local salt-flavored ramen as well as to a baked potato.
The association of certain places with certain foods also plays a big part in the tradition of omiyage—souvenir gift-giving. The need to purchase omiyage for family members and friends back at home is always foremost in the mind of a Japanese traveler. A tourist returning from Kyoto will be happily welcomed back if they bring a box of the thin bean-filled mochi dessert known as otabe. A businessman will win favor with the office staff if he remembers to pick up some ningyo yaki at Tokyo Station.
CHINA
Chopsticks:
Chinese simply choose chopsticks as their tableware rather than knife and fork since Chinese people, under cultivation of Confucianism, consider knife and fork bearing sort of violence, like cold weapons. However, chopsticks reflect gentleness and benevolence, the main moral teaching of Confucianism.
Never stick your chopsticks upright in the rice bowl, since that usually appears on the funeral and is deemed extremely impolite to the host and seniors present.
Make sure the spout of the teapot is not facing anyone. The proper way is make it direct outward from the table.
Don't tap on your bowl with your chopsticks, since that will be deemed insult to the host or the chef.
Never try to turn a fish over and debone it yourself, since the separation of the fish skeleton from the lower half of the flesh will usually be performed by the host or a waiter. Superstitious people will deem bad luck will ensue and a fishing boat will capsize otherwise.
In China, foods are given different meanings, so that in certain occasion a kind of food, can only be eaten by some specific individuals, or a kind of food must be eaten in specific occasion.
Usually, an honored guest will be served a snapper's head or shell to hail him and show warmly welcome in some districts.
Long noodle is the symbol of longevity in China, so that youngsters or seniors all will have a bowl of Long Life Noodle to expect a healthy life.
In Central China, if a baby is born, his father will send Red Boiled Egg to announce the news. An even number, usually six or eight, of Red Boiled Egg with a black point dotted on one end will be delivered for a boy, and an odd number, usually five or seven without black point for a girl.
Fish is always served to symbolize prosperity and wealth accumulation in the New Year's Eve.
There are other foods and snacks symbolizing good wishes under special circumstances, such as duck, chicken and melon seeds.
http://www.warriortours.com/intro/cuisine_culture.htm
Mongolia
An old Mongolian saying advices: “Keep breakfast for yourself, share lunch with your friend and give dinner to your enemy”.
The biggest and most important meals for Mongolians are breakfast and lunch, which usually consist of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour and maybe some dairy products or rice.
Kazakhs in western Mongolia add variety to their diet with horsemeat.
Mongolians are big tea drinkers and the classic drink is süütei tsai (tea with milk). Men who refuse to drink arkhi (vodka) are usually considered wimps. Herders make their own unique home brewed airag, which is fermented mare's milk with an alcoholic content of about 3%
http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_culture.htm
If you are invited into somebody's ger (or traditional tent dwelling) or apartment, you will probably have an opportunity of tasting buuz, khuushuur and bansh. These Mongolian national meals are made with minced meat seasoned with garlic or onion (it can be anything from mutton to beef to camel to horse to gazelle) covered with flour and steamed in boiling water, fried in oil and boiled in water.
The meat-dependent diet arises from the need for hearty food to stave off the cold and long winters. Traditionally nomadic herders, Mongolians have for centuries been dependent on mostly animal products for their dietary staples.
Russians pulled the plug on Mongolia's aid in 1991, the economy went into a severe crisis. For many Mongolians it was their first experience of serious hunger. The staple traditional diet of meat, milk and flour saw many people through this crisis, when food imports from the former Soviet Union dropped off.
Mongolians traditionally have turned to foods that are high in protein and minerals, relying less on more seasonable foods like vegetables and fruits. This means a diet heavy on meat and dairy products, the latter when sour in the summer time thought to clean the stomach. It isn't just about meat though. Mongolians do also eat cereal, barley and natural fruits and plants native to the country.
Out of necessity Mongolians have found creative and ingenious ways to use the milk of all five of the domestic animals in the country: sheep, cattle, goats, camels and horses. Orom is the cream that forms on top of boiled milk; aaruul are dried curds and can be seen baking in the sun on top of gers in the summer; eetsgii is the dried cheese; airag is fermented milk of mares (female horses); nermel, is the home-brewed vodka that packs a punch; tarag, is the sour yogurt; shar tos, melted butter from curds and orom, and tsagaan tos, boiled orom mixed with sometimes flour, natural fruits or eesgii. The method of drying the dairy products is common in preparing them. The Mongolians prepare enough dairy products for the long winter and spring.
http://asiarecipe.com/monfood.html
North Korea